http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/usarmy/ en-us Mon, 6 Oct 2008 02:27:29 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098380/posts The Army on Monday will unveil an unprecedented doctrine that declares nation-building missions will probably become more important than conventional warfare and defines "fragile states" that breed crime, terrorism and religious and ethnic strife as the greatest threat to U.S. national security. The doctrine, which has generated intense debate in the U.S. military establishment and government, holds that in coming years, American troops are not likely to engage in major ground combat against hostile states as they did in Iraq and Afghanistan, but instead will frequently be called upon to operate in lawless areas to safeguard populations and rebuild countries.... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098380/posts#comment Mon, 6 Oct 2008 02:27:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093612/posts WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Army is establishing a suicide prevention board to examine the mental health of its recruiters around the country after the fourth suicide in three years by Houston, Texas-based recruiters, according to Army officials. The board will look at how to handle the high-stress climate facing recruiters who may be both under pressure from their job and victims of post-combat deployment stress, according to Douglas Smith, a spokesman from the U.S. Army Recruiting command. "The United States Army Recruiting Command is deeply concerned by the instances of suicide within the Houston Recruiting Battalion," said a statement... cnn http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093612/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:06:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2092448/posts Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1 3rd Infantry’s 1st BCT trains for a new dwell-time mission. Helping ‘people at home’ may become a permanent part of the active Army By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer Posted : Monday Sep 8, 2008 6:15:06 EDT The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys. Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home. Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under... Dandelion Salad http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2092448/posts#comment Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:08:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2091889/posts Obama stretched out his schedule for withdrawing troops from Iraq. During the debate, Obama said we could "reduce" the number of combat troops in 16 months: Obama: "Now, what I've said is we should end this war responsibly. We should do it in phases. But in 16 months we should be able to reduce our combat troops, put – provide some relief to military families and our troops and bolster our efforts in Afghanistan so that we can capture and kill bin Laden and crush al Qaeda." But in Oct. 2007, Obama supported removing all combat troops from Iraq within... FactCheck.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2091889/posts#comment Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:33:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090469/posts 6 Air Force, 2 Army Generals Punished For Shipment Of Nuclear Fuses To Taiwan Eight generals, ranging in rank from one to three stars, have been disciplined as a result of the mistaken shipment of fuses for nuclear warheads to Taiwan, The Associated Press has learned. Defense officials said Wednesday that the six Air Force and two Army generals were given disciplinary letters that vary in seriousness but often can end careers or hopes of promotion. The officers are mainly in logistical jobs and were involved to some degree in the mistaken shipment to Taiwan of four electrical fuses for... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090469/posts#comment Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:09:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086778/posts A young filmmaker risks everything, including his life to tell his brothers' story. Often humorous, sometimes lethal, this embedding with four combat units in Iraq, gives him insight into his two soldier brothers, his family, and ultimately into his own character. Brothers At War Coming Soon To A Theater Near You http://brothersatwarmovie.com http://ie.youtube.com/BrothersAtWar Brothers At War http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086778/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:04:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083178/posts My 15-month deployment to Iraq as a chaplain in the US Army just came to an end, and in a strange way, I was a bit sad to go. I'm going to miss the people I've met, the friends I've made, and, of course, the action and adventure. But I know it was time to go home. My primary responsibility was to look after the spiritual and religious needs of the roughly 400 soldiers in my battalion. I performed Jewish services on my base. About once a month, I'd take a ride in a Blackhawk to visit Jewish soldiers at... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083178/posts#comment Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:15:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082224/posts The US army is poised to unleash the dogs of war – four-legged, petrol-powered robots to help its troops in battle. Billed as ‘the most advanced quadruped robot on Earth’, BigDog has been devised to support American troops by carrying up to four packs of equipment on awkward terrain unsuitable for wheeled vehicles. Standing at over 2ft tall and more than 3ft long, BigDog comes equipped with all manner of high-tech gadgets, including laser gyroscopes, a video camera sensor system and a sophisticated on-board computer – but, sadly, no wagging tail. The 11 stone machine, created by Boston Dynamics, can... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082224/posts#comment Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:08:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078590/posts Missing WWII Soldier Is Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Pvt. James W. Turner, U.S. Army, of Altus, Okla. He will be buried on Sept. 11 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army met with Turner’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.... DOD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078590/posts#comment Tue, 9 Sep 2008 23:46:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075739/posts BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2008 – Task Force Gladiator, together with the Afghan National Police and a contracted construction and supply company, delivered 75 desks, 10 chalk boards and 150 sets of school supplies to the villages of Jurghati, Hasanzi and Shawo Katay in the Kohi Sofi district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province Aug. 26. A child from the Kohi Sofi district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province, laughs at Army Sgt. Jeremy Smith of Task Force Gladiator’s Alpha Company. The task force distributed school supplies to the district’s Shawo Katay, Hasanzi and Jurghati villages on Aug. 26, 2008. Courtesy photo  (Click... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075739/posts#comment Sat, 6 Sep 2008 01:18:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073964/posts We cannot say farewell to the 2008 Olympics without offering a 21-gun salute to the fine U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, based at Fort Benning. (Not to be confused with the three-volley salute common at funerals, the 21-gun salute is typically reserved for the president as part of the "Hail to the Chief" ceremony, and for other heads of state.) The unit brought home two gold medals: Spc. Walton Eller III for the double trap competition and Pfc. Vincent Hancock for the skeet. Eller set two Olympic records with a score of 145 in the qualifying rounds and 190 in the... Columbus Ledger-Enquirer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073964/posts#comment Wed, 3 Sep 2008 19:31:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071425/posts Army Deploys 'Experience Center' The high-tech launch in a Philadelphia mall features giant TV screens, helicopter simulators and a cafe Aug 29, 2008 -By Andrew McMains   NEW YORK The U.S. Army today opened an "Army Experience Center" in a major mall in Philadelphia with the goal of explaining how the modern Army operates and becoming a hub for community outreach programs. But unlike recruitment centers in office complexes, the center is surrounded by retail stores and designed to look hip and modern, with giant plasma screen televisions, brushed stainless steel fixtures, interactive displays, helicopter and Humvee simulators, a gaming... Adweek, various others http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071425/posts#comment Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:06:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067347/posts After a century of green uniforms, the last one is being retired from the U.S. Army. The new "Class A" uniform, as of August 21st, 2008, will be the current blue "Dress Uniform.". By 2010, troops graduating from basic training will be issued the "dress blues" as their "Class A" uniform. The "Class B" uniform will be the dress blue trousers and a white shirt with decorations (ribbons, combat badge and so on). For both enlisted and officers, rank will be worn on epaulets. The new uniform "system" is similar to the one the U.S. Marine Corps has been wearing... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067347/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:26:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064813/posts Diane Schroer, a 52-year-old former Army Special Forces commander, testified yesterday in federal court that she was "disappointed and dismayed" when an official at the Library of Congress rescinded a job offer even though she was the star candidate. The offer, for a job as a terrorism research analyst, was pulled the day after Schroer told her future boss that she was making the medical transition from being a man, David, to being a woman, Diane. "I honestly felt a little surprised and shocked," Schroer testified during the first day of the trial in her discrimination lawsuit against the Library... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064813/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:56:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060751/posts August 12, 2008, 4:00 a.m. ‘The Army We NeedÂ’The McCain/Obama debt to Rumsfeld. By Lawrence Di Rita In remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in April 2007, Sen. Barack Obama told an audience that “if the need arises when I’m president, the Army we have will be the Army we need.” The phrasing was an obvious shot at Chicago’s own Donald Rumsfeld, who in December 2004 in Kuwait told a deployed National Guard unit that the nation goes to war “with the Army you have.” Given Obama’s hostility to Bush’s strategy in Iraq overall, it is probably... National Review Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060751/posts#comment Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:09:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060074/posts Retired Army Lt. Col. Lones W. Wigger Jr., 70, a three-time Olympic military marksman himself, starts a new job with the beginning of the 2008 Olympics as narrator for MSNBC’s Web video coverage of marksmanship competitions in the Summer Games. Wigger, whose career spanned 25 years, competed at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. He won a combined two gold medals and one silver medal. Six Army marksmen are representing the United States in this summer's competitions in Beijing. “It was great to make the Olympic team,”... Department of Defense http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060074/posts#comment Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:11:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051644/posts ”I feel blessed to be working on this important project,” said Ryan Hartwig, construction representative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Basrah Children’s Hospital Office “Each time we go, we see more progress. I can look at the place now and actually visualize patients using this facility,” he continued. “It’s just very satisfying being part of this effort that will no doubt save or change the lives of so many Iraqi children.” Several key partners are involved in the project including Project Hope (a nongovernment organization), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, explained... American Forces Network http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051644/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:28:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048309/posts Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey visited Fort Bliss July 13 and said that an innovative program there to treat post-traumatic stress disorders ought to be replicated at other locations across the Army. Army News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048309/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:06:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047968/posts Jerry Boykin had lost 15 pounds in the grueling Delta Force selection process, but he faced one more ordeal: a one-on-one interview with an overweight Army psychologist. “Could you spend several days alone in a sniper position with a homosexual?” the psychologist asked. Boykin had to think about that one. Finally, he replied, “If it was my mission, I could. But he’d better understand that I’m not like that.” The story is from the retired three-star general’s book “Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom.” The book’s release date is July 29. Boykin spent most... The Fayetteville Observer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047968/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:57:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047949/posts NORFOLKAs doctors removed pieces of shrapnel from his body Friday, Staff Sgt. Jesse Queck was piecing together accounts of the attack that killed nine of his comrades in Afghanistan earlier this week.Queck, who grew up in Eastville and Cheriton on Virginia's Eastern Shore, is recovering from combat injuries at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.He is one of about a dozen injured soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.The battle Sunday involved an estimated 200 Taliban insurgents coordinating a large-scale attack on an unfinished mountain outpost near the Pakistani border.About 45 U.S. soldiers... The Virginian-Pilot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047949/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:00:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038057/posts WASHINGTON — Soon after American forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, Gen. Tommy R. Franks surprised senior Army officers by revamping the Baghdad-based military command. The decision reflected the assumption by General Franks, the top American commander for the Iraq invasion, that the major fighting was over. But according to an Army history that is to be made public on Monday, the move put the military effort in the hands of a short-staffed headquarters led by a newly promoted three-star general, and was made over the objections of the Army’s vice chief of staff. “The move was sudden and caught... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038057/posts#comment Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:53:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037709/posts The last of the five Army brigades to deploy with the “troop surge” in Iraq will return in July after a 13-month deployment, during which soldiers detained more than 800 terrorist suspects and helped foster Iraqi self-governance. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team has operated in the Arab Jabour area of southeastern Baghdad, where the number of attacks plummeted from about 30 a week when they arrived in May 2007 to about one a week now. “All in all, it's been a very successful operation for us,” Army Col. Terry Ferrell, 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander, told reporters... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037709/posts#comment Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:49:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035405/posts In a historic appointment, President Bush selects Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody to direct the Army Materiel Command. WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Monday nominated a top logistics officer to be the first female four-star general in U.S. history, tapping Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody to head the command responsible for supplying the Army with all its equipment. Dunwoody's selection as chief of Army Materiel Command comes nearly 11 years after the first female three-star general was appointed, as head of Army intelligence, and 38 years after the first two female Army one-stars were named. -snip- LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035405/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:27:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034719/posts WASHINGTON — Ever since the Army lost its warplanes to a newly independent Air Force after World War II, soldiers have depended on the sister service for help from the sky, from bombing and strafing to transport and surveillance. But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have frayed the relationship, with Army officers making increasingly vocal complaints that the Air Force is not pulling its weight. In Afghanistan, Army officers have complained about bombing missions gone awry that have killed innocent civilians. In Iraq, Army officers say the Air Force has often been out of touch, fulfilling only half of... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034719/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:58:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034525/posts WASHINGTON — Ever since the Army lost its warplanes to a newly independent Air Force after World War II, soldiers have depended on the sister service for help from the sky, from bombing and strafing to transport and surveillance. But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have frayed the relationship, with Army officers making increasingly vocal complaints that the Air Force is not pulling its weight. In Afghanistan, Army officers have complained about bombing missions gone awry that have killed innocent civilians. In Iraq, Army officers say the Air Force has often been out of touch, fulfilling only half of... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034525/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:59:25 GMT